Queensland Ballet Unveils 2027: An Evita Premiere, a Narrated Little Prince and a Season on the Road

Queensland Ballet has announced its 2027 season today, and the timing is deliberate. It's also the company's Giving Day, running from 9am to 9pm AEST tonight, when match donors quadruple every donation. A silent online auction of original costumes from past productions closes at 8pm.

It's the second season under Artistic Director Ivan Gil-Ortega, and the headline is the Australian premiere of Doña Perón: The Story of Evita. Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, the choreographer behind the sell-out Coco Chanel: the Life of a Fashion Icon and Elegantly Wasted, tells the story of Eva Perón's meteoric rise to First Lady of Argentina.

Hamlet returns after its Brisbane premiere this year, and this time it opens the season in Toowoomba. Leo Mujić's dark, physical retelling plays the Empire Theatre on 19 and 20 February, then comes back to the Talbot Theatre in June for a limited encore season.

Families get a world premiere. The Little Prince, the next My First Ballet, is choreographed by former Queensland Ballet Principal Artist Camilo Ramos, narrated by David Wenham and designed with puppets by Dead Puppet Society. It's timed for the July school holidays.

The season also leaves Brisbane more than usual. Queensland Ballet is adding multi-year regional partnerships with the Toowoomba, Stanthorpe, Redlands and Bundaberg councils, and ICONS: Ballet's Greatest Hits tours from Stanthorpe on 4 March through Goondiwindi, Caloundra, Bundaberg, Redcliffe, Cleveland and Maryborough, ending on 22 April. "Queensland Ballet should belong to every Queenslander," Gil-Ortega says. Regional performances are ticketed through the local venues, not as part of the season packages.

The Brisbane season

• Elegantly Wasted, set to the songs of INXS: 8 April to 8 May, Talbot Theatre
• Soirée, inspired by Margaret Olley: 21 to 24 April, Talbot Theatre
• ICONS: Ballet's Greatest Hits: 14 to 22 May, Talbot Theatre
• Hamlet: 11 to 19 June, Talbot Theatre
• The Little Prince: 2 to 10 July, Talbot Theatre
• Doña Perón: The Story of Evita: 30 July to 28 August, Talbot Theatre
• Academy Gala: 4 to 7 August, Talbot Theatre
• Strictly Gershwin: 9 to 23 October, Glasshouse Theatre, QPAC
• The Nutcracker: 10 to 23 December, Glasshouse Theatre, QPAC

Soirée and the Gala feature students from the Academy of Queensland Ballet, which is why they run alongside the company's main productions. Elegantly Wasted, a world premiere at HOTA on the Gold Coast in September, comes home to Brisbane, and Derek Deane's The Nutcracker returns for a second festive season after its December premiere this year.

Season packages and 2027 memberships are on sale now at queenslandballet.com.au. Duet lets you pick two productions and save up to 10 per cent on premium tickets, and Encore covers three or more for up to 15 per cent off.